Roman Anthony, Trevor Story Return as Red Sox Unveil Best Lineup of 2026

To all those who celebrate, today is the day. Roman Anthony will play a game for the Boston Red Sox.

He’s not the only one. Trevor Story and Anthony are both officially back and Boston is wasting no time getting them involved. Boston will wrap up its four-game series against the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.

Anthony and Story are both in the lineup with the young outfielder leading off and serving as the team’s designated hitter. Story is batting eighth and is back at shortstop.

Here’s the full lineup for the Red Sox series finale against New York.

Red Sox vs. Yankees Finale Lineup

1. Roman Anthony, DH
2. Ceddanne Rafaela, CF
3. Wilyer Abreu, RF
4. Willson Contreras, 1B
5. Adley Rutschman, C
6. Caleb Durbin, 3B
7. Jarren Duran, LF
8. Trevor Story, SS
9. Nick Sogard, 2B

No notes.

With how the roster is currently constructed, this is the absolute best lineup that Boston can roll out. In a perfect world, we’ll see both Anthony and Story immediately give this club a lift. Anthony looked great down in Triple-A. He hit a few homers and got on base left and right. The reason why he’s a great leadoff guy is the fact that he doesn’t just hit for power and average, but he also has a phenomenal eye. This guy gets his walks and gets on base.

With Story, he obviously struggled early on. But if he can return to his 2025 form, he’ll be an X-factor. Having that big, right-handed bat at the bottom of the order will be nice as well. Jarren Duran has started to get hot and Nick Sogard has been great. There aren’t any holes in this lineup. It’s balanced and you can’t really pitch around anyone. That’s what getting these guys back right now does for Boston.

Caleb Durbin has been the heart and soul of the 2026 Red Sox and has been incredible for months. Since June 25, Durbin is batting .293 with an .804 OPS, seven homers, 32 RBIs and nine stolen bases. That’s your No. 6 hitter. If a pitcher doesn’t want to throw to him, now you have to deal with Duran who has been red-hot over the last few weeks. Then, you have Story, who is a threat to hit it out of the ballpark any time. Finally, Sogard has been an on-base machine. If these guys are on, then all of a sudden you have Anthony at the top of the order ready to terrorize opposing pitchers.

This is a balanced and elite starting lineup. If Curtis Mead can return this season and slot in at second base, great. Even if he doesn’t return, this lineup is elite and can go far in the playoffs.

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